Dien Bien values ​​proactiveness to minimize natural disaster damage

Colonel Lai Manh Hung believes that when we are proactive, we can master all situations and proactively respond to minimize damage (property and human lives) from natural disasters.

Recalling the flash flood disaster that occurred in Lao Cai last year, Colonel Lai Manh Hung also mentioned the initiative of an individual who ensured the safety of more than a hundred people in the same village. That person was Mr. Ma Seo Chu, Head of Kho Vang village.

Mr. Chu was the one who discovered the crack on the mountain right behind the village - a sign of a landslide risk. On September 9, 2024, it was also Mr. Chu who directly mobilized and convinced 17 families with 115 people in the village to move to another place to build temporary shelters.

One day later (September 10, 2024), when the people of Kho Vang village had moved away, the flood came, the hill behind the village collapsed and flooded the residential area, but fortunately the entire village was evacuated to a safe place, otherwise the consequences would have been unpredictable.

Colonel Lai Manh Hung, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Dien Bien Provincial Military Command, frankly pointed out the shortcomings in the response and recovery work of natural disasters in Muong Pon commune, Dien Bien district. (Photo: LE LAN)

Colonel Lai Manh Hung also shared real-life stories about proactive responses that have minimized damage to property and human lives when natural disasters (flash floods, landslides) occur locally.

According to Colonel Lai Manh Hung, most recently, in April 2025, officers and soldiers of the Tua Chua District Military Command surveyed and discovered a crack about 1m x 800m wide at the Hang Khua residential area, Pao Tinh Lang village, Ta Sin Thanh commune (Tua Chua district).

Immediately afterwards, the District Military Command proactively advised Tua Chua district to direct forces, including the military, militia, police, and local authorities, to support 20 families in moving their houses and assets out of the dangerous area.

With the support and contributions of youth union members and local people, within 20 days, the forces completed the task of helping people move, avoiding the current risk of landslides that threatened the lives of hundreds of people every day, every hour.

Militia and self-defense forces and officers and soldiers of Tua Chua district help families in Hang Khua residential area, Pao Tinh Lang village, Ta Sin Thanh commune move their houses and properties away from landslide risk areas.

However, on the contrary, proactive response is passive or indifferent, disregarding information warning of natural disaster risks, so when natural disasters occur, the consequences are often very severe; people in disaster areas are confused about how to respond and overcome them.

Citing the flash flood that occurred in Muong Pon commune, Dien Bien district in the early morning of July 25, 2024, killing 14 people, injuring and causing property damage of nearly 180 billion VND, Colonel Lai Manh Hung and leaders of the branches of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Control and Search and Rescue of Dien Bien province all agreed that the cause of the damage was partly due to the indifference and subjectivity of local authorities and local people.

Everyone knows that before the flood came, there was storm number 2 and information about thunderstorms affecting the circulation after the storm was continuously updated on national media, local newspapers and television; along with recommendations and instructions on response measures. However, right in Muong Pon commune, both the people and commune officials were somewhat subjective with the thought that "there has never been a flood in 70 years". Therefore, when the flash flood came, people were very panicked, not knowing where to run and which way to run; the commune government was also confused and passive.

"Then, after the flood passed, people in the flooded area were indifferent, leaving the task of overcoming the consequences to the army, rescue forces and the affected families. The indifference of the people here has greatly affected the time and results of overcoming the consequences of the storm and flood", Colonel Lai Manh Hung frankly mentioned the indifference of a part of the people in the Muong Pon flooded area.

Agreeing with the opinion and assessment of Colonel Lai Manh Hung that the initiative of each individual, each unit, each locality plays a very important role in responding to and minimizing natural disaster damage, representatives of leaders of sectors: police, border guards and leaders of People's Committees of districts in Dien Bien province all recommended that it is necessary to attach importance to warning information, communicating natural disaster risks to each region, each residential area, each family and each person.

Following the content of warning information and natural disaster risks, local authorities (districts, communes) must proactively guide response and prevention measures to each residential area so that each person can clearly grasp the information, thereby proactively taking preventive measures for themselves, their families and the community.

Only by doing so can we hope to minimize damage and remedy it more quickly and effectively.

After a natural disaster, local authorities need to immediately organize a review, assessment, and experience drawing from the stages of warning information, propaganda, response, and recovery, in order to clearly identify which individuals and organizations have done well to commend and reward; at the same time, it is necessary to clearly identify which individuals, organizations, and localities have not done well, have not fulfilled their responsibilities, and to seriously criticize, avoiding the situation of "general praise, non-specific criticism", so that everyone feels "as if they are not criticizing themselves", and then everything quietly passes as if the natural disaster had never happened.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dien-bien-coi-trong-su-chu-dong-de-giam-thieu-thiet-hai-thien-tai-post879539.html